The EPA link

Mponjoli Malakasuka, a Tanzanian man jailed in the UK for involvement in an international car theft network, is in possession of "sensitive" information on the 133bn/- Bank of Tanzanias external payment arrears (EPA) account embezzlement scandal of 2005/06, it has been revealed.

According to well-placed sources familiar with Malakasukas apparent role in the EPA scandal, he is known to hold "deep secrets" with regard to how the scam went down and such staggering amounts of money were successfully siphoned out of the BoT-EPA coffers to be whisked off to foreign lands.

Law enforcement officers in the UK have hinted at increasing interest about how exactly Malakasuka was involved in the EPA scandal between 2004 and 2007, when he first came over from the United States to set up residence in Britain.

He is believed to have some sensitive information on certain aspects of the EPA scandal, especially how much of the embezzled money may have ended up lubricating some foreign economies, said a source known to be quite familiar with Malakasukas movements over the years.

Added this source: "It is understood that he (Malakasuka) was in close touch with some key individuals in both Tanzania and London during the time the EPA looting scam was actually being carried out."

The 36-year-old Tanzanian is believed to have supplied stolen prestige cars from the UK to a number of Dar es Salaam-based beneficiaries of the 2005/06 EPA looting caper.

At least one high-profile EPA scandal suspect currently on trial in a local court is known to have imported at least two vogue Range Rover models into the country by special airfreight from the UK around the time of the scam.

According to reports, British investigators unearthed Malakasukas connection to the EPA scandal while probing his finances. They discovered that he controlled 71 different bank accounts with more than 1.25 million British pounds (approx. 2.5bn/-) in cash.

He was jailed for three-and-a-half years by a UK court in July this year, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal. Authorities in the UK have said he will be deported to Tanzania once he finishes his prison sentence.

According to various people familiar with Malakasuka from his childhood years, he grew up in Mbeya region where he did both primary and secondary education.

He was a shrewd person and always determined to get what he wanted. He was always talking of going off to Europe or America, a former schoolmate of Malakasuka in Mbeya region told THISDAY.

Mponjoli came from a relatively well-off family. His father owned a once-successful construction company...but he was always dreaming of much bigger things in life, the schoolmate added.

After completing O-Levels in Mbeya, Malakasuka moved to Dar es Salaam and left for the United States soon afterwards, where other sources have said he became quite "famous" for driving expensive cars and leading a lavish lifestyle in Texas and elsewhere.

The sources say he got married in 2002, in an expensive an elaborate beach wedding in the US.

He later returned to Dar es Salaam after reportedly being involved in dubious dealings in the US, and eventually headed off for the UK where he had relatives.

Malakasuka was arrested by UK police in 2007 when a routine check on the Mercedes Benz he was driving at the time found it to have been stolen.

Further investigations following his arrest apparently established that he was involved in a racket under which dozens of prestige cars of Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Aston Martin, Range Rover, Volkswagen and BMW make were stolen from wealthy areas in central England, and subsequently exported in sealed shipping containers to Tanzania and Kenya.

Following Malakasukas conviction, a financial investigation was launched under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act to recover an estimated 1.5 million pounds (approx. 3bn/-) he is believed to have amassed through the racket.

It was during these inquiries that evidence linking him to the complex BoT-EPA fraud was uncovered.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has since joined in the probe, and is understood to now be leading an international inquiry into the extent of the connection between the jailed Malakasuka and the EPA scandal.